"yolk until the mouth is fully developed, when they begin to feed on copepods and other zooplankton. They soon begin to prey upon fish. Juveniles generally attain a length of by November of their first year. Adult muskellunge are apex predators where they occur naturally. Only humans pose a threat to an adult but juveniles are consumed by other muskies, northern pike, bass, trout, and occasionally birds of prey. The muskellunge's low reproductive rate and slow growth render populations highly vulnerable to overfishing. This has prompted some jurisdictions to institute artificial propagation programs in an attempt to maintain otherwise unsustainably"
"high rates of angling effort and habitat destruction. Though interbreeding with other pike species can complicate the classification of some individuals, zoologists usually recognize up to three subspecies of muskellunge. The tiger muskellunge (""E. masquinongy"" × ""lucius"" or ""E. lucius"" × ""masquinongy"") is a hybrid of the muskie and northern pike. Hybrids are sterile, although females sometimes unsuccessfully engage in spawning motions. Some hybrids are artificially produced and planted for anglers to catch. Tiger muskies grow faster than pure muskies, but do not attain the ultimate size of their pure relatives, as the tiger muskie does not live as long."
"tend to prefer smaller bait since their metabolism is slower, while large bait are preferred in fall as preparation for winter. As muskellunge grow longer they increase in weight, but the relationship between length and weight is not linear. The relationship between them can be expressed by a power-law equation: The exponent b is close to 3.0 for all species, and c is a constant for each species. For muskellunge, b = 3.325, higher than for many common species, and c = 0.000089 pounds/inch³. Muskellunge are sometimes gregarious, forming small schools in distinct territories. They spawn in mid to late"
"pike, Allegheny River pike, jack pike, unspotted muskellunge, and the Wisconsin muskellunge. Muskellunge closely resemble other esocids such as the northern pike and American pickerel in both appearance and behavior. Like the northern pike and other aggressive pikes, the body plan is typical of ambush predators with an elongated body, flat head, and dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins set far back on the body. Muskellunge are typically long and weigh , though some have reached up to and almost . According to past references the muskellunge attains 8 feet (244 cm) in length; this, however, has never been confirmed and"
"of the gill cover lacks scales, and it has large sensory pores on its head and on the underside of its lower jaw which are part of the lateral line system. Unlike the similar-looking and closely related muskellunge, the northern pike has light markings on a dark body background and fewer than six sensory pores on the underside of each side of the lower jaw. A hybrid between northern pike and muskellunge is known as a tiger muskellunge (""Esox masquinongy × lucius"" or ""Esox lucius × masquinongy"", depending on the sex of each of the contributing species). In the hybrids,"
"will have seven or more per side, while the northern pike never has more than six. The lobes of the caudal (tail) fin in muskellunge come to a sharper point, while those of northern pike are more generally rounded. In addition, unlike pike, muskies have no scales on the lower half of their opercula. Muskellunge are found in oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes and large rivers from northern Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota through the Great Lakes region, north into Canada, throughout most of the St Lawrence River drainage, and northward throughout the upper Mississippi valley, although the species also"
"some fish, e.g. the muskellunge, the weight of which grows with about the power of 3.325 of its length. A muskellunge will weigh about , while a muskellunge will weigh about , so 33% longer length will more than double the weight. To determine whether isometry or allometry is present, an expected relationship between variables needs to be determined to compare data to. This is important in determining if the scaling relationship in a dataset deviates from an expected relationship (such as those that follow isometry). The use of tools such as dimensional analysis is very helpful in determining expected"
"Wolverine The wolverine () (also spelled wolverene), ""Gulo gulo"" (""Gulo"" is Latin for ""glutton""), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch, is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear than other mustelids. A solitary animal, it has a reputation for ferocity and strength out of proportion to its size, with the documented ability to kill prey many times larger than itself. The wolverine is found primarily in remote reaches of the Northern boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundra of the Northern"
"two more prominent species of Esocidae are ""Esox lucius"", the northern pike, a popular sport fish that may reach lengths as great 1.5 m (4.6 ft), and the muskellunge or ""muskie"", ""E. masquinongy"", which grows even larger. Mudminnows are much smaller than the related pikes, with usual lengths of less than 20 cm. However, they are also extremely efficient, lie-in-wait, ambush predators, feeding mostly on the invertebrates commonly found in warm backwaters. Of the three North American species of genus ""Umbra"", one, ""U. limi"", possesses a limited capability for air breathing. ""Umbra"" spp. are most commonly found in the Atlantic"
"spotted appearance with stripes along their backs, providing camouflage among weeds. Individual pike marking patterns are unique, like fingerprints. Pike can grow to a maximum recorded length of , reaching a maximum recorded weight of . Currently, seven recognized species are placed in this genus: Hybrids between ""Esox masquinongy"" and ""Esox lucius"" are well-known and referred to as the tiger muskellunge. One fossil species, ""Esox kronneri"" , is known from the Eocene of the Green River formation. Two additional fossil species from this family are place in their own genera: ""Estesesox foxi"" , and ""Oldmanesox canadensis"" . The generic name"
"Figure eight (angling) The figure eight is a technique used by anglers to fish specifically for the muskellunge. It has been developed due to the nature of the fish's hunting style. Essentially, the figure eight is a final enticement performed by the angler just before lifting the lure out of the water for another cast. To help visualize the concept, think of a roller coaster. As the lure is moved from side to side, it also moves up and down. The figure eight is named after the pattern in which the angler pulls the lure through the water next to"
"Pulmonata Pulmonata, or ""pulmonates"", is an informal group (previously an order, and before that a subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a pallial lung instead of a gill, or gills. The group includes many land and freshwater families, and several marine families. The taxon Pulmonata as traditionally defined was found to be polyphyletic in a molecular study per Jörger ""et al."", dating from 2010. Pulmonata are known from the Carboniferous Period to the present. Pulmonates have a single atrium and kidney, and a concentrated, symmetrical, nervous system. The mantle cavity"
"Husky the Muskie Huskie the Muskie is the nickname of a outdoor sculpture depicting a muskellunge in Kenora, Ontario's McLeod Park. The first Huskie was constructed in 1967 as a potential Canadian Centennial project by Jules Horvath and Bob Selway from Deluxe Signs and Displays under the direction of the Kenora Chamber of Commerce. Since then the effigy has received national recognition in part due to its size and position alongside the Trans-Canada Highway. The original was rebuilt in 1995. A call to the public was made for a suitable name for the giant fish and from the hundreds of"
"Cloud sponge Cloud sponge (Aphrocallistes vastus) is a primitive organism of the order Hexactinosida in the class Hexactinellida. It is a deep-water reef-forming animal. The species was first described by F.E. Schulze in 1886. The cloud sponge takes the form of a large cup with an irregularly folded wall about thick. This is pierced by many pores about wide and covered by a thin dermal membrane. The skeletal elements form a lattice-like structure made up of fused spicules of silica. These mesh together and project into the adjoining canals. There is a fir-tree like concentration of spicules running through the"
"from the Latin ""musculus"" meaning ""little mouse"" perhaps because of the shape of certain muscles or because contracting muscles look like mice moving under the skin. The anatomy of muscles includes gross anatomy, which comprises all the muscles of an organism, and microanatomy, which comprises the structures of a single muscle. Muscle tissue is a soft tissue, and is one of the four fundamental types of tissue present in animals. There are three types of muscle tissue recognized in vertebrates: Cardiac and skeletal muscles are ""striated"" in that they contain sarcomeres that are packed into highly regular arrangements of bundles;"
"as souvenirs in the animals' ""native regions"". The Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum in Munich, Germany features a permanent exhibit on the creature. It resembles other creatures from German folklore, such as the ""Rasselbock"" of the Thuringian Forest, or the ""Elwedritsche"" of the Palatinate region, which accounts describe as a chicken-like creature with antlers; additionally the American Jackalope as well as the Swedish Skvader somewhat resemble the wolpertinger. The Austrian counterpart of the wolpertinger is the raurakl. Wolpertinger In German folklore, a wolpertinger (also called wolperdinger or woiperdinger) is an animal said to inhabit the alpine forests of Bavaria in Germany."
"Boomslang The boomslang (, , or ; ""Dispholidus typus"") is a large, highly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. ""Dispholidus typus"" is the only species in its genus, although several species and subspecies have been described in the past. Its common name means ""tree snake"" in Afrikaans and Dutch – ""boom"" meaning ""tree"" (a cognate of ""beam""), and ""slang"" meaning ""snake"". In Afrikaans, the name is pronounced . The boomslang is thought to be closely related to members of the genera ""Thelotornis"", ""Thrasops"", ""Rhamnophis"", and ""Xyelodontophis"", with which it forms the taxonomic tribe Dispholidini. The average adult boomslang is in"
"Smeagol (gastropod) Smeagol is a genus of small air-breathing sea slugs of the upper intertidal zone. They are pulmonate gastropod mollusks related to land slugs and snails. Analysis of DNA sequences has shown that ""Smeagol"" belongs in the family Ellobiidae, and is therefore closely related to ellobiid snails. The name of the genus is in honour of Tolkien's fictional character Gollum, who was originally known as Sméagol. There are five described species and potentially one undescribed species from Tasmania in the genus ""Smeagol"": ""Smeagol manneringi"" has no tentacles and is a very active blind animal with a size of up"
"in fishing for largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, catfish, walleye and muskie types of fish. ""Natural strain"" muskellunges were first stocked at Kinkaid Lake in 1985, and the lake began producing fish up to 40 inches in length by 1990 (after only five years of growth). In November 1998, construction of a spilling retention barrier was completed. This device was designed to keep the muskies in the lake (when the lake overflows into the spillway), but also offers the added benefit of keeping larger variants of walleye, bass, crappie, and striped bass from escaping. The lake is the home of the"
"Book lung A book lung is a type of respiration organ used for atmospheric gas exchange that is found in many arachnids, such as scorpions and spiders. Each of these organs is found inside an open ventral abdominal, air-filled cavity (atrium) and connects with the surroundings through a small opening for the purpose of respiration. Book lungs are not related to the lungs of modern land-dwelling vertebrates. Their name describes their structure. Stacks of alternating air pockets and tissue filled with hemolymph (the arthropod equivalent of blood) give them an appearance similar to a ""folded"" book.(Their number varies from just"
"Similarly, biologists in Washington have adopted the implementation of tiger muskellunge and are still studying the impacts of these fish. Historically, efforts in Washington have been made that seek similar results. Both brown trout and lake trout were introduced into various lakes within the Washington Cascades and monitoring took place over a 20-year span. While minimal improvements were noted with brown trout introductions, the largest success came from lake trout introductions. While the tiger muskellunge were stocked at a length of nearly 11 inches, the brown and lake trout were stocked as fingerlings and results did not become evident until"
"Old German verb ""smeugen"" – to squeeze through a hole. Like the type species, Smaug lived underground and was heavily armored. Appropriately Tolkien was born in the Free State province, South Africa, the core area of distribution of the type species. The name is masculine. ""Zonurus"", the former genus name, is from Greek zōnē 'girdle' + oura 'tail'. The specific name ""breyeri"" is in honor of Dutch botanist Hermann Gottfried Breyer. ""Smaug"" are large lizards (extremely large among the Cordylidae), measuring up to in snout–vent length (SVL). The body is sub-cylindrical in cross-section and robust. Limbs are moderate in length"
"Mochlus Mochlus is a genus of skinks, lizards in the family Scincidae. The genus is endemic to Africa. Skinks of the genus ""Mochlus"" are cylindrical in shape and robust. They get the common name ""writhing skinks"" from the side-to-side movement that they make when held in the hand. Skinks in the genus ""Mochlus"" feed on insects and millipedes. The following 14 species are recognized as being valid. ""Nota bene"": A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ""Mochlus"". Günther A (1864). ""Report on a Collection of Reptiles and Fishes made by"
"swollen and unable to eat more, at which point it will find two trees and squeeze itself in between them, pushing the meat through its own body before returning to the kill and repeating the process. It is probably a Wolverine based on these traits it shares with the animal native to arctic climates around the world, including Scandinavia. Resource: ""Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus"" by Olaus Magnus. (The History of the Northern People, 1555 AD) Gulon The Gulon is a Scandinavian legend, also known as a ""Jerff"" in Northern Sweden and ""Vielfraß"" in Germany. It is a hodgepodge of various"
"sponges on the grounds that the detailed structure of chancellorid sclerites (""armor plates"") is similar to that of fibers of spongin, a collagen protein, in modern keratose (horny) demosponges such as ""Darwinella"". However, another analysis in 2002 concluded that chancelloriids are not sponges and may be intermediate between sponges and more complex animals, among other reasons because their skins were thicker and more tightly connected than those of sponges. In 2008 a detailed analysis of chancelloriids' sclerites concluded that they were very similar to those of halkieriids, mobile bilaterian animals that looked like slugs in chain mail and whose fossils"
"Muscle tissue Muscle tissue is a soft tissue that composes muscles in animal bodies, and gives rise to muscles' ability to contract. This is opposed to other components or tissues in muscle such as tendons or perimysium. It is formed during embryonic development through a process known as myogenesis. Muscle tissue varies with function and location in the body. In mammals the three types are: skeletal or striated muscle; smooth or non-striated muscle; and cardiac muscle, which is sometimes known as semi-striated. Smooth and cardiac muscle contracts involuntarily, without conscious intervention. These muscle types may be activated both through interaction"
"Exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek έξω, ""éxō"" ""outer"" and σκελετός, ""skeletós"" ""skeleton"") is the external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to the internal skeleton (endoskeleton) of, for example, a human. In usage, some of the larger kinds of exoskeletons are known as ""shells"". Examples of animals with exoskeletons include insects such as grasshoppers and cockroaches, and crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters. The shells of certain sponges and the various groups of shelled molluscs, including those of snails, clams, tusk shells, chitons and nautilus, are also exoskeletons. Some animals, such as the tortoise, have both"
"Sclerosponge Sclerosponges are sponges with a soft body that covers a hard, often massive skeleton made of calcium carbonate, either aragonite or calcite. Because of their long life span (500–1,000 years) it is thought that analysis of the aragonite skeletons of these sponges could extend data regarding ocean temperature, salinity, and other variables farther into the past than has been previously possible. Their dense skeletons are deposited in an organized chronological manner, in concentric layers or bands. The layered skeletons look similar to reef corals. Therefore, sclerosponges are also called coralline sponges. Sclerosponges were first proposed as a class of"
"Sublingua The sublingua (""under-tongue"") is a muscular secondary tongue found below the primary tongue in tarsiers and living strepsirrhine primates, which includes lemurs and lorisoids (collectively called ""lemuriforms""). Although it is most fully developed in these primates, similar structures can be found in some other mammals, such as marsupials, treeshrews, and colugos. This ""second tongue"" lacks taste buds, and in lemuriforms, it is thought to be used to remove hair and other debris from the toothcomb, a specialized dental structure used to comb the fur during oral grooming. A rigid structure called the plica mediana or lytta runs from the"
"shape and produce movement. The skeleton of sponges consists of microscopic calcareous or silicious spicules. The demosponges include 90% of all species of sponges. Their ""skeletons"" are made of spicules consisting of fibers of the protein spongin, the mineral silica, or both. Where spicules of silica are present, they have a different shape from those in the otherwise similar glass sponges. The skeleton of the echinoderms, which include, among other things, the starfish, is composed of calcite and a small amount of magnesium oxide. It lies below the epidermis in the mesoderm and is within cell clusters of frame-forming cells."
"Black slug The black slug (also known as black arion, European black slug, or large black slug) ""Arion ater"" ""L."" is a large terrestrial gastropod mollusk in the family Arionidae—the round back slugs. Land slugs lack shells like other terrestrial mollusks (such as snails). Without such shells, slugs produce unappetizing mucus—that may also contain toxins—to deter predators. Terrestrial slugs produce two other forms of mucus that facilitate locomotion and prevent death from drying. Such mollusks are hermaphroditic. Slugs most often function as decomposers but are also often omnivores. ""Arion ater"" is one such slug, decomposing organic matter, preying on other"
"Esocid lymphosarcoma Esocid lymphosarcoma, also known as ""Esox"" lymphosarcoma is a transmissible tumor which affects two species of fish, northern pike (""Esox lucius"") and Muskellunge (""Esox masquinongy""), in North America and Europe. The tumors initially are found in the skin, but later in the course of the disease are also found in the internal organs. The tumors appear as colorless skin protrusions which are several centimeters in diameter. A retrovirus has been detected in affected cells by electron microscopy. The disease is spread by physical contact between fish, probably during the spring spawning season. The disease has the lowest prevalence"
"slug elongates while in locomotion, and at rest it contracts into a hemispherical shape. It performs a rocking motion when disturbed. It is an omnivore. Red slug The red slug (Arion rufus), also known as the large red slug, chocolate arion and European red slug, is a species of land slug in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs. This slug is distinguished from similar species by the position of its respiratory pore toward the front of its mantle, the lack of a keel on its back, and a wrinkled surface. It varies in color from orange or red to brown"